Belal's Nonfiction Writing Blog

Parts of an incomplete whole. One’s identity is deeply interconnected with their nationality. The latter represents the soil they were born on and the expectations it brings. It has big impacts on the setting of your life, which in turn triggers a chain reaction of countless other experiences changing or occurring. My entire family is from Libya, with the vast majority of them born and raised there. There are minimal exceptions where family has stayed abroad for some time, however my immediate family and I are the only ones who’ve moved to the US. Still, when they first moved everyone in the family at the time had been born in Libya, which includes my older sister. I am one of two in my family who was born here. From the debate of moving to Libya and leaving where I was raised to the constant mix up of my nationality it’s quite difficult to fully identify with one country or culture. My blood and roots are almost purely Libyan, yet living there feels strange and unfamiliar. I know the...

Unexpected Uplift Memorable moments can happen from the most unexpected scenarios, such as a PE class final. This is because the best experiences aren’t just the most enjoyable, but the ones that fill you up with warm feelings. To pass PE near the end of the year everyone needed to run a 5k and reach a target time. On the day of the run I got sick so I had to sit out and walk the track with my injured friend. The coach encouraged us to cheer on our classmates as they passed us to motivate them. I was eager to take on the task as I enjoy uplifting people. PE class came along and the final began. After some time groups of runners began passing us one by one. As they did, I would clap and cheer with all that I could, pushing them onwards. The race proceeded like normal, and I cheered my heart out on each lap. This went on until a point near the end of the run. I saw a lone runner ahead of us and as they approached I began clapping and calling out encouraging words. Suddenly in a harsh ton...